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Sunday, 23 November 2014

Villers Bocage Campaign - Game 3

Today we played the third
scenario of the Villers Bocage campaign for Chain
of Command (all the campaign details can be found in the first
game post).In the past two games the Germans had been defeated and the
British were now reaching the outskirts of the town itself; it was a critical
moment on the campaign. As in the previous games, I was the German commander.

According to the scenario
instructions, this was a Delaying Action scenario (the number 4 in the main
rules book) and the victory conditions states that the attacker must take
control of an enemy's jump-off point in its deployment area (victory
objective).

As in the previous
game, we enlarged the scenario to make it "big",
adding a tank platoon to each side; in the case of the British two standard
Sherman and a Firefly and in the case of the Germans, 2 Pz IVs and a Pak 40
AT-gun.

At the conclusion of the
patrol phase, it emerged that the British were looking to concentrate the
attack on the German's right flank. Luckily one of my jump-off points was next
to the two rural farms and from the second floor we had a good unobstructed
view of the battlefield.

The British commander made
good his reputation of being an aggressive, guy and from the first activation
British troops started pouring on the table: one infantry squads and two tanks.
The tanks moved along the road while the infantry in parallel course but
through the field at the other side of the bocage line.

My reaction was to deploty
a LMG team in the second floor of the main house and deploy a first Pz IV at
the opposite edge of the road used by the Shermans, both in overwatch.

The first British tank
decided to take risks, moved straight flat out, crossing in the line of sight
of my panzer (reducing my "to hit" probability) which failed to
strike the Sherman and landed safely (or so he thought) at the other side of
the field (it crossed an open in the bocage line).

But the joy lasted less
than 30 seconds. It was my phase now and I did not lose the opportunity to
bring a Panzershreck team, firing at very short distance on the Sherman's
flank: with a net five hits after saving rolls, the first British tank
was knocked out.

In the meantime the second
Sherman moved and face my Panzer in its own previous activation, benefiting
from having lost my overwatch order. In my own phase, before I could fire, the
British player used his Chain of Command dice to interrupt my action and fire first...
failing miserably to hit my tank!!

It was my turn now and to
take revenge: the Pz IV achieved three net hits on the Sherman, knocking it out
of the game. Two of three!!.

A very chaffed British
player tried to use his second infantry platoon and the third Sherman to
outflank my position from the north. When the infantry was in the middle of the
field, I deployed one of my infantry platoons, although unfortunately only one
of the tow LMG teams (I was playing with Panzergremadiers, not regular
infantry) could be placed at the other side of the bocage line.

In the
following phases some LMG and rifle fire was exchanged, causing 2 KIAs to my
troops and making 1 KIA on his.

The British player then
made a cold assessment of his situation and realised that he was at a great
disadvantage vs. the Germans, who still could field 2 panzers and two and a half
infantry sections in good order... wisely, he decided to concede defeat and to
retire from the battlefield in good order. First Axis victory of the campaign.

After action thoughtsA short 90 minutes game this morning. In my opinion, the key to victory was in
this case the very low roll for support of the British player (a mere 3),
causing a no serious threat to the German as not enough points were
gained to bring artillery or other heavy material to support the attack.

The campaign system in At the Sharp End is fantastic. The way to play is totally different to the standalone game, as the players have to decide when to commit forces and assess the risks of losing valuable men that could be used in the following games of the campaign. In fact, we all agree that from now on and in 2015 we are going to organise our games in mini-campaigns.

About Anibal Invictus

A fairly experienced Spanish wargamer, based in Madrid. Together with a group of friends founder of "Club Dragón" in the early 80s. A truly TooFatLardies gruppie since a first love encounter in 2008, I regularly play the Napoleonic, WWI, WWII and Vietnam periods.